Do Koi like Guitar? |Open

[Zaeric Blackwood]

He had his feet in the water, trying to cool down. Even though it was the later afternoon heat was outright murdering him. Zaer sat there, little fish nibbling on his toes. He had his guitar with him [like always] and was playing fragments of tunes he had stuck in his head. They were all floating around in there, riffs and chords blending together to make music. He kind of wanted paper to write them down, but the unwritten melody was all the sweeter that anything written. It was free, and therefore could always change. So he didn't write them down. He could have with his school bag behind him.

Papers were spread out around him, held down by stones from in the pond. Each one was some kind of poem he had written recently. They were kind of all realy sad and emo. Or goth if one preferred. But there were a few that were moderately happy. Moderately mind you. He didn't do happy very well. His poetry tended to the more dramatic death and insanity type thing.

And lately all his poems had music in them. Not only was he thinking in rhyme now, but he was thinking in song. The notes would flash before his eyes and usually be gone before he could remember them. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Having some mysteries was really nice. Fingers splayed across the strings as the soft melody played. The song itself was kind of slow, and had a general warm tone. A tone that reminded him of the fish swirling around lazily in the pond. They were warm, all gold and firey. Maybe this is a koiffish melody. I wonder if fish even like music.

He shrugged and let the melody play itself out. He wished he could enjoy the sun more. He was hot enough already though. Zaeric set his guitar aside and leaned back onto the soft grass. Just listening to the birds was kind of nice. Even so, his fingers and mind itched for the soft music. So he gave in, leaned up, and began playing again.

[Christina Byrne]

It was warm outside, a nice day to most. The pond was sparkling in the sun and the Koi were everywhere. Christina buzzed around in a red and white flowing, off the shoulder shirt, a black skirt, white leggings, and black converse, taking pictures of anything and everything. She laid on her stomach, getting her camera as close to the water as possible without getting it wet, attempting to get a picture of the fish. Upon looking up, Christina realized that from this angle, she had a great shot of the school. Rolling on her side slightly, she held the camera steady and snapped the picture. Perfect. She walked over to a tree and reviewed her pictures in the shade, deleting any that weren't up to her standards.

Once done, she turned her camera off and laid in the cover of the tree, where the heat still hit her but the sun didn't blind her. Christina loved the heat. She loved warm weather, and being able to just lay in the glow of the sun. Others seemed to feel the same, because there were a few others lounging about in the sun that day. A few minutes later, Christina heard music coming from the other side of the pond, and lifted her head. A boy was on the other side, playing his guitar, feet in the water. He seemed quite at ease, and didn't seem to notice her watching him with interest. He was a good musician, judging by what he was playing. He didn't even seem to be reading from sheet music.

After a few minutes, Christina stood up and skipped around the lake to his side. "You're really good. What's this song? I've never heard it." She sat cross-legged next to him. "I'm Christina, by the way. Grinning at him, she tried to figure out what words would go with this music.

[Zaeric Blackwood]

The voice startled him from the music. God he always got so wrapped up in the sound. The music took him to another world it seemed. So it shouldn't have really suprised Zaer that someone could sneak up on him when he was in the groove. The girl skipped over, wearing some of the oddest clothes he had ever seen. Red white and black were everywhere. Well, it made snse in a way. But he really doubted there was symbolism behind it. So Zaer put on his charming smile and let his fingeers roll over the strings.

"Hey there Christina, I'm Zaeric." He said, mentally adding Zaer to the end of the sentence. He usually did, but it was really getting old. Most people called him Zaer anyway, so he had nothing worry about. When she asked what the song was Zaer shrugged.

" No real song. Just something from in here." He tapped his temple with a finger. The music always came from there, even when he was loking at a score. There were always diffrences of what he saw and what he played. And the koi melody was stuck in his head. It would most likely be there for a good while too. So he played a few more bars of it, letting the guitar fade into a silvery hum of happiness. It was nice out, even if he was warm. Well, the water helped with that. It was a little bit colder around his legs than what it would normally be. Only a little though. He didn't want to freeze the poor fish.

" So what are you doing on this nice warm day Miss Christina?" He kinda wanted to call her Christie, Or Chris, or anything other than that long name. His least favorite Aunt was a Christina. Even so, he swallowed the dislike for the name. It was only a name anyway. Until he was invited to do otherwise he'd call her by her full name. She was kinda young anyway, maybe about thirteen or so if he was good at guessing

[Christina Byrne]

The boy in front of her looked a bit startled when she first walked up, but he seemed to recover just fine and answered her. "Hey there, Christina, I'm Zaeric." She liked it. The name was different, just like she was. Anything out of the ordinary was welcome with her. "Zaeric.... That's kind of an odd name. I like it. Any nicknames?" With a name like that, there had to be something that people called him instead. Her name was simple, bland, Christina. Yet, people always insisted on calling her Christy or Chrissy, or Teeni, once. She didn't particularly like nicknames, but, God, anything but Chrissy. She'd been hoping to leave her mother's annoying nickname for her behind when she came to the institute.

She put her hand in the water and waved it around gently, creating little ripples on the surface, oblivious to anything but the fish in the water and the look of the ripples in the sunlight. If she could get this view with her camera... It would be wonderful. Christina's mind was still in photography mode. Zaeric told her that there was no song, that it had just come from "here" and pointed to his head. She looked up at him enviously and smiled. "That is so cool. I always wanted to play an instrument, but I guess the music gene never made it into my family. I tried to play a flute in band in middle school. Didn't end up joining. Couldn't get the flute to make a noise. Pathetic." Giving an awkward, nervous laugh, Christina looked back down at her hand in the water. She'd been rambling. He hadn't asked for a story, after all. Another skill she had yet to learn - knowing when to shut up.

The embarrassment subsided when he asked her what she was doing outside that day. Her passion. Her eyes lit up and sparkled. But after her embarrassing rambling, she tried to keep it cool now. Christina looked at the water for a few moments before looking up and shrugging. "Working on photography." She smiled, but not too much. She wouldn't be embarrassed twice in one sitting.

[Zaeric Blackwood]

Zaer just kind of grinned. So she liked his name. He liked it too really. Then she inquired about his nickane. Well that was a no brainer for him.

" My nick name is Zaer, or Z if you prefer." He watched the fish swilrling around. He again wondered if she had any preferred nicknaes. He could think of a few that would make him shiver. Chrissy was one. Whatever it was he had just never like the name. Zaer shivvered slightly even though it was warm. He watched ht eoyunger girl for a few moments. Ya, she seemed to be a bit ecentric, but that was cool. To each his own.

So he watched her swirl the water around. It was really pretty, the way the water ripples outward, marring the image of the fish. It made him think of music.
"That is so cool. I always wanted to play an instrument, but I guess the music gene never made it into my family. I tried to play a flute in band in middle school. Didn't end up joining. Couldn't get the flute to make a noise. Pathetic." She said to him. Well, not everyone had musical talent. He certainly did. But he lacked an eyes for anything artistic.

So she like photography. He..well, put simply he failed at photography. The lighting and positions and things escapeed him. He loved looking at other photo's though.
" That's neat. I'm not very good with photo's, but I love to look at them." He replied. He was loking at the pond.
" I think that the pond would be cool if you were able to get the fish in. The surface would have to be perfectly still." He could make it still, but just barely. He definitely had a hard time with water. Ice was his specialty.

[Christina Byrne]

"Zaer... I like it. Calling you Z kind of makes me think of a superhero suit. You know, like the S on Superman." Christina laughed nervously, hoping she hadn't offended him. She was starting to like this person. He accepted her, so far. He didn't jump at the chance to get away from her with some excuse about homework. Zaeric stayed and talked to her, and that was enough. She needed friends, and this was about as close as she'd gotten so far. Accepted. She liked the feeling.

Christina's hand continued to ripple the water before her, thinking in the back of her mind about how to get a picture of the water rippling with the fish beneath. She'd tried and tried again with the wind, but it never came out the way she wanted it to. As relaxed as Christina was with most things, she was very strict with herself about the way her photos turned out. It was something she learned from her father - If you hadn't captured the image to the extent that you knew you were capable of, it wasn't good enough. She was constantly taking and retaking pictures of the same image in her attempt to get it absolutely perfect. The angles, the lighting, the background... It all had to be perfect.

"I think that the pond would be cool if you were able to get the fish in. The surface would have to be perfectly still." The young girl's eyes lit up and she turned her gaze toward Zaeric. He appreciated photography? She couldn't tell you how angry she got when people told her "Who cares? It's just pictures." When someone appreciated the art of it, she couldn't help but smile brightly. "Yes! I tried doing that before you came. But it seemed like every time I tried to capture the ripple of the wind, it only came in short bursts and I couldn't get it right. But then I tried to catch it with the water still, and right as I took the picture, it rippled, but not in a way that could work for the ripple picture, either. It's so frustrating. It's like the weather is working against me." Christina looked down at the water and shook her head, discouraged. If only she could get that picture, something to send home to her father to be proud of. If only...

[Zaeric Blackwood]

A super hero name. He had never really thought about it like that. He had always had a few friends that had called him Z, so it wasn't strange. But he did in truth like Zaer better anyway, so it was all good. For a moment he considered again asking her if she had any prferred nicknames. So he dedcided it was a good idea.

" Do you have any nicknames you like?" He asked her kinda quietly. He was watching the ripples in the pond, watching enviosly as they glided around. He kinda wished that he could make that happen without having to toucha nything. You know, maybe I should try. She could take pictures and I could move or still the water. I t would be good practice for me

Christina was telling him about the trials of taking pictures. He preferred to stay away from camera's all together. The last one he had held was sitting in the bottom of this very pod. Ya, somewhere in the mud was was a camera with pictures of him on it from a few years ago. Someone could probably find it and fix it, but he dearly hoped not.
" I can get that. I've never been good, but I admire those who are." He smiled and looked at her.

" Would you want some help getting the ripples right and stuff? Its part of my power and I need the practice." Zaer told her rather excitedly.

[Christina Byrne]

Christina pursed her lips slightly, thinking about what she should tell him. Anything but Chrissy. "Everyone pretty much calls me Christina. My friend back home calls me Chris sometimes. Anything but Chrissy." She rolled her eyes at her mom's stupid nickname for her. Thirteen years of "No, Chrissy" and "Chrissy, do your homework" and "Chrissy, do your chores." It was too much. No more Chrissy.

She shrugged slightly. "I'm not anywhere near as good as my dad. I'm sure there are billions of people better than I am." Christina often actually hated her own works. Her dad always said that was the mark of any good artist. Perhaps he was right, but most likely not.

She got very excited at Zaer's offer to control the water, as part of his power practice. "You could do that? You could? Really? Yes, please!" She could get the picture! She would have something to send back to her dad! It would be so great. He would know she was still practicing her photography even here. He would be proud of her work. She was so excited for this. She only hoped he was better with his power than she was with hers.

[Zaeric Blackwood]

Zaeric could hear the excitement in her voice and could understand why she was feeling that way. He'd be excited too if someone told he him had a chance to get something just right. In fact, that had happened before, but he hadn't quited freaked out. So for a few moments Zaer concentrated on what he was going to do. He hadn't had much practice with water manipulation, and wondered if he could still do anything. He gave a slight sigh. Hopefully it would work out well.


He turned back to Christina. Chris was a cute name. Short and sweet and still a good fit for this slightly zany girl. So he decided thats what he'd call her.
''okay Chris, I'm pretty sure I can do this. I just have to concentratete on the water usually to make anything happen. I might even be able to clear it up around the edges so you can see the koi.'' He pulled his feet out slowly and went to set his guitar under the nearby tree. There would be no sense in leaving it there where it might get wet and warped. That would be awful d

[Christina Byrne]

"Okay, Chris, I'm pretty sure I can do this. I just have to concentrate on the water usually to make anything happen. I might even be able to clear it up around the edges so you can see the koi." Christina nodded. She completely understood what that was like. "I get it. Like when I try to go through things I have to concentrate really hard to not get stuck. Then if I do get stuck, I have to concentrate even harder to fix it." She laughed a little. She was always getting stuck in things, whether she'd been trying to go through them or not.

She moved over slightly to a section of the pond where the ground wasn't too wet and she could lay on her stomach without getting muddy. "If it will help you, I could tell you a specific part of the pond I'm trying to get in the picture so you can focus your energy there? It might be easier than doing it blind and going at the whole thing." Christina was going out on a limb here. Based off her power and common sense, it made perfect sense. If she was only trying to put her hand through something, it didn't get stuck as often as when she tried to go through walls or something (in which she hadn't made it through without getting stuck once yet).

[Zaeric Blackwood]

Concentrating on one part of the pond would definitely help. If he tried to concentrate on the whole pond then he would fail for sure. So he looked at the calm water in thought. He understood what she was saying about concentration.

Okay, lets do this. Tell me where you want it still or rippling and I'll see what I can do. No gurantee, but I'm pretty sure I can do something." He knew there was a chance nothing would happen, and regretted not practicing more. So he looked at the water and tried to get the feeling he had whenever he was working with ice, and melt it to be water. This is going to be..............interesting Was his thought.

[Christina Byrne]

Christina nodded at Zaeric. She certainly understood what it was like to not have powers work the way you wanted them to. "It's no problem, really. Even if we don't get a good picture, it'll be good practice. Just another step closer to being able to do stuff like this whenever you want." She smiled lightly and scanned the water for a picture opportunity.

When she saw it, she pointed. A few koi swam around together in a small portion of the pond. The action reminded Christina of children playing tag. She checked the settings on her camera before laying on her stomach to get the right angle. Looking up at Zaer, she spoke enthusiastically. "There. The ones that seem set off from the other fish." Pointing again, to make sure he saw, she thought for a moment. "Think you could make the water completely still there?" The young girl felt a breeze on her face, if only for a moment, and saw the ripple of the water. Sadly, Christina knew she was at the wrong angle for a ripple picture.